blood

[fondest]

my husband has had blood tests done and his hemoglobin is 7.9 the doctor says this is low so he is repeating the test, does anyone know what it supposed to be, he has also requested an electrolyte blood test as this was low has anybody any ideas what this all means. thanks fondest

[Ice.Maiden]

Hi fondest. Electrolytes are chemicals in the body which regulate important things in the body, such as potassium and calcium levels.
A low reading can result in weakness, heart palpitations and changes in blood pressure, so it's important to get these tested, especially as your husband's hemoglobin levels are down.
The normal reading for hemoglobin in men is, I believe somewhere between 14 and 17 - in that region, so yes, it's low. This could be to do with diet, any medication he's on, poor kidney function and several other things including hormonal imbalance, so your doctor'll be requesting for all these tests to be carried out so that they get a picture of what's happening. Hope this helps a bit.

[daffy654]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemoglobin

[PurpleParis]

Fondest, take some advice from someone who has been through the mill recently....when the results come back, if there is the slightest indication that he may be 'borderline' anaemic then ask the doctor to do a vitamin B12 test, it costs the NHS �3.37 but could save a lot of future problems. The medical fraternity believe the occurence of Pernicious Anaemia in the population is 0.06%-0.2%. A doctor in Co Durham who has been studying this over more than 25 years has discovered that it is more likely to be closer to 10%-13%. The awful thing is that PA is so easy to 'fix' but if left untreated can have life long complications.

[Sqad]

purple...the blood film would indicate whether or not the anaemia is suggestive of PA or not.

[LazyGun]

Purple, do you have a link to this Dr in Durhams study, or the name of the Dr? I would very much like to see their article.

As Squad says, analysis of the blood film plus the parameters from the full blood count itself ( MCH, MCV etc) would show any sign of B12 deficiency anaemia - Its pretty difficult to miss.